rashguard

[DiveMaven]

Yikes, you are brave!! I haven't been able to even get my feet in the water on the Oregon coast since I was a kid....okay, I'm a warm water wimp!!

Personally, I like wearing a full suit for not only warm, but protection from the marine environment. In Hawaii there is a lot of hard coral and volcanic rock which you can get pushed into, so I'd vote for long sleeves since coral scrapes can take a long time to heal.

 

[CompuDude]

are you kidding me, I live on the north coast (Oregon) and I go boogie boarding without anything but a t-shirt and shorts, hawaii's gonna feel like bathwater

Boogie boarding and diving are different. Water pulls the heat away from you a lot more effectively when fully immersed than when you're just wet at the surface. You're going to want a wetsuit of some sort... you may be able to get away with a shorty, but a rash guard isn't likely to cut it for scuba in Hawaii.

 

[thebrain]

Ya, I see your point but Im going with a group and I can assure that unless the scuba certification place is supplying them (99.9% sure they arent) Im gonna be going in a shirt (or rashguard) and shorts just like everybody else. BTW were doin shallow diving, going down probably no more that 40 feet.
thanks for the help everybody

 

[DiveMaven]

One of the neat things about Hawaii is that the water temperature is the same from top to bottom (at least within recreational dive limits). If it's 74 at the surface, it'll be 74 all the way down to 40+ feet. When we got certified on Maui, they provided us with wetsuits as part of the gear package, so perhaps yours will do the same.

Whatever you do, have a GREAT time!!

 

[Parrothead_Diver]

Like Maven said, check with the dive operator. I have yet too find one in Hawaii that doesn't offer you the option of renting a wetsuit. Some even include it in the price.